Certain CeraVe Acne Treatments Contain Harmful Levels of Benzene, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges certain CeraVe skincare products with benzoyl peroxide have been found to contain “harmful levels” of a cancer-causing chemical.

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The 32-page lawsuit alleges defendant L'Oréal has failed to warn consumers that the benzoyl peroxide in CeraVe Ance Foaming Cream Cleanser and CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Wash can degrade into benzene, a human carcinogen.

According to the complaint, L'Oréal’s “misrepresentations and omissions” regarding the presence of benzene in the acne treatments have deceived consumers into believing the products are safe to use when they are, in fact, “adulterated, misbranded, and illegal to sell” under federal law.

The World Health Organization has advised that there exists no safe level of benzene exposure, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that any drug product containing more than two parts per million (ppm) of the substance should be recalled due to its “unacceptable toxicity,” the filing says.

However, laboratory test results published by independent pharmacy Valisure earlier this month reveal that CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser contains benzene at levels ranging from five to 12 ppm, the suit relays. 

Per the complaint, the benzoyl peroxide found in the CerVa cleanser and 65 other acne treatment products tested by Valisure was found to break down in benzene over the course of their shelf lives, particularly when exposed to higher temperatures that commonly occur during distribution or consumer handling.

The lawsuit claims that L'Oréal “knew or should have known” its products were at risk of benzene contamination given that the issue of benzoyl peroxide decomposition has long been established in scientific literature and reported in regulatory guidance. Instead, the defendant made “no reasonable effort” to test the CeraVe acne treatments for the unsafe substance or disclose to consumers that the products could contain or degrade into benzene, the case contends.

“[The defendant] could have avoided any potential for benzene contamination in the [benzoyl peroxide] products by changing the manufacturing process or raw ingredients, and the [benzoyl peroxide] products could have been sold with absolutely no benzene in them,” the complaint says.

Nevertheless, L'Oréal has sold, and continues to sell, contaminated CeraVa acne treatments to unsuspecting customers who would not have bought the products had they known the truth about them, the filing alleges.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in Louisiana who purchased CeraVe Ance Foaming Cream Cleanser with four percent benzoyl peroxide and CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Wash with 10 percent benzoyl peroxide for personal or household use during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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